Paradiso
by In Pieces
Summary: Dante wasn't sure of what it truly was, but he was starting to have a faint idea of the meaning of paradise. DantexKat.


"Every time I close my eyes I see a world where we are finally free; where we don't have to worry about demons surrounding us like predators or the hell we have to face day by day." Kat said one day out of the blue as she pulled a loose end from the bedspread on the bed she was sitting on with Dante, who was fidgeting with a now empty bottle of beer in his hand.

"Well, we're not too far from there." He answered, unsure if those were the words she wanted to hear. "Mundus is dead, we took the whole scheme down," He turned to her; she was staring at the pile of filthy clothes in the corner alongside his trusted weapons. He knew what she was thinking. He refrained himself from sighing and said in a softer tone. "You don't have to be afraid anymore, no one's going to hurt you now. I promise."

Paradise; it was amusing to know how different it was depending on one's perspective. For Kat it meant a world of freedom in all of its forms; for Dante it was just another word that tried to describe the imaginary aspect that the world would never have completely, not with Vergil and his twisted way of thinking running around without restrictions and all those demons on the loose.

And to think that for a moment he thought that the fleeting time he spent with his twin brother would end up doing any good but, as always, every time he found happiness, normality or something remotely close to that it turned out to be the complete opposite of what he expected and added another scar to his mind.

Life was a bitch; luckily he was a tough bastard.

With a sigh he sat in the mangled couch in the abandoned apartment he claimed as his own in the section he called 'living room' that consisted of only said couch and a small television that he always forget to turn off and stared dully at the pointless contest show they were rebroadcasting where a woman was jumping up and down as she pondered on a question the plastic-faced host made.

He heard the familiar creak of the door being opened as Kat's figure slowly appeared. "Dante?" She asked as she carefully looked around. Dante chuckled, immediately catching her attention.

"Nobody's naked here –yet-, so no worries." He joked as he threw his hands in the air mockingly to let her see that he was fully clothed. Kat had the 'good luck' of showing up when he was naked, and he would be lying if he said he didn't find amusing the way she would just look away or fixate on his eyes only. "Unless you want that to change, I wouldn't mind." He added with a wink.

As usual, Kat ignored his remark and closed the door softly before walking over to him and taking a seat beside him, letting her body relax against the hard cushions.

"It's chaos out there." She commented softly, he could sense the morose in her tone.

"Yeah, I know." He said simply, his gaze still on the sappy television show before turning his head to look at her, she was frowning slightly as she saw the woman on T.V. cheering loudly without a care in the world; it was ridiculous to show so much excitement in such circumstance. "Look at the bright side, Kat." She gave him full attention now. "You've got me all for yourself."

She smiled weakly in response, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Dante frowned.

"What's on your mind?"

"I wonder how long we will be able to cope with all of this." She said. He understood that by 'we' she meant humans, she knew he would be just fine. Dante huffed and let his hands drop on his knees.

"This is about Vergil, isn't it?"

She didn't answer, nor continued to look at him. He didn't need a spoken answer to realize that she still felt that pang of emotions deep inside. All the memories she shared with Vergil would be forever embed into her brain; he was her savior, the one that offered a way out of her misery without wanting anything in exchange and acted from the kindness of his clouded heart.

"He is my brother." Dante started, he paused for a few seconds before speaking up again. "I know our situations aren't the same; with all your love or admiration towards him or whatever it is but I can guarantee that you're not the only one who feels betrayed, angry and frustrated with all of this." Kat gave out no response; she stared at the henna tattoos on her hands with fake interest. "It felt good to find someone who truly cared about you, someone that you could rely into without hesitation." He shrugged. "But, shit happens and there's nothing we can do about it. We made our choices, for better or worse."

Kat sighed deeply and kept her gaze fixated on the T.V., paying no attention to the program yet finding the hollering voices soothing. "He was that piece of reality that helped me keep my sanity in the nightmare I was living." She shook her head and bit her lower lip as she let her eyes lower to the floor before she continued in a low voice, her words laced with frustration and confusion. "I still can't understand why he decided to go down that path after all we did to get this far…I thought he was different; that was my downfall."

"Nothing is ever what is seems."

She nodded and slowly raised her head to look him in the eyes , holding his gaze; then, slowly and gently in a movement that was a little too cautious, she placed her hand on top of his; the movement managed to make his fingers twitch slightly. He was unused to the tact and innocent nature that Kat's simple gesture held: genuine affection. Not lust or need, just a pleasant approach.

He was still raw inside.

He didn't say anything. Not a quick remark or any witty comment that would make her shook her head and look away; neither did she uttered a word.

For a moment he forgot he was a Nephilim and a demon hunter who was betrayed by the only family member he had left; he forgot that the world was submerged in chaos and that there was little he could do to maintain a balance on the remains of the city and focused on woman whose hand rested on top of his in a similar fashion to the way he tried to soothe her when the SWAT team shot her and started to beat her without mercy, aware that he could do nothing more than offer that gesture to assure her that he would come back for her.

Kat's thoughts drifted from the havoc outside to the bit of peace they were sharing, ignoring the background laughter from the T.V and enjoying the simplicity of the moment.

Paradise wasn't peace or a utopia; it was a state of mind. He was Dante, a hero guilty as charged; and she was Kat, the silent warrior.  
And for now, that was enough.

* * *

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.

Disclaimer: DmC and its characters belong to its rightful owners.


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